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I've played around with Art Master and Animaction quite a bit and had a lot of fun making some pretty cool animations. I love these programs and they are serviceable, but they are also both extremely limiting and tedious to use. .. So I'm just throwing the idea out there for a new Vectrex animation "game", if there is anyone else maybe interested in this and qualified to program such software.

This isn't necessarily Vectrex32 exclusive, but I suppose this new hardware might open up some possibilities and perhaps this type of program would be easier to get off the ground than a game, (no AI, no level design, few creative choices, less burden to fine tune mechanics and difficulty etc.).

I'm prepared to break down and list what is useful and what is lacking in ArtMaster/Animaction, the differences between the two etc, in great detail. But unless (until?) there is more interest, I will summarize only the most glaring shortcomings:

- Both games rely entirely on lightpen input for all drawing tasks. This is EXCRUCIATING for detailed work. It would be very very useful to be able to manually plot coordinates. .. Even if there was just a way to increase/decrease x and y postions one unit at a time using button presses on the controller, this would be a great upgrade.

- The two games use two different methods of animation, but both of them require that every frame of the movie contains all of the vectors/sprites. This means that neither game can do traditional frame by frame animation, (in which the illusion of motion is created by a series of unique static drawings). .. Traditional frame by frame character animation IS relevant to Vectrex and it is how many of the most animation intensive games are drawn, (War of the Worlds, I,Cyborg..).

- The length of movies is pretty limited, especially with maximum vectors on Art Master.

- Inability to save in either game.

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I'm not sure many gamers share my interest in consumer animation "edu-games", or if there would be much audience for this 

.. It might be cool instead, (more practical, maybe even useful) to have a PC software that enabled animation made on the computer to then be output to Vectrex, (without the user having to actually learn a programming language). But I suppose that would eliminate the option of also using the lightpen.

Would the cartridge hardware enable game programs to SAVE game data, (games in progress, high scores etc.) without interfacing with a PC while playing the game?

Vectrex "homebrew" programmers have varied in how they choose to release their new game programs. The availability of Vectrex flash cartridges enables games to be released electronically and instantaneously, often for free. But some developers prefer to release the games on dedicated cartridges, often with electronic edition signitures unique to each cartridge ROM. They sell these game cartridges and they restrict the use of the software to those who have purchased cartridges.

Is there a method for protecting software made for the Vectrex32 hardware?

Could a non-interfacing game-dedicated Vectrex32 cartridge be made more cost effectively than the current development cartridge, for the sake of publishing a commercial game in physical form?

The "commercial" aspect is quite thin in terms of actual profit, but I think for many programmers who choose to fully develop a robust game, the official and physical release and distribution is really essential to justifying the effort; achieving the childhood dream of making a video game..

It may take a long time for a new game that takes full advantage of this system to come out. Could a vector arcade emulator be written for the Vectrex32 more quickly in the meantime? If that software could be made and distributed it would surely help popularize the new hardware and create a bigger community.

I also wonder if a different kind of emulator could be made to run existing non-3D Vectrex games in 3D and in color, with the 3D Imager!!!! ... Or maybe this would have to be game hacks on an individual basis.

Just some thoughts for getting engaging software off the ground more quickly. But these emulators would be great to have whether they came quickly or not.